External arch support for shoes



Patented Mar. `23, l1926. l

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UNITED STATES muxos Rossmann, or amenazan, PENNSYLVANIA.

EXTERNAL non surnom: non suona Application led July 29,

Pittsbur h, in the county ot Allegheny and v State of ennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful lm rovenients in External .dreh Supports for hoes, ot which the tollowing is a specication.

This invention is for arch supports of the type applied to the bottoni ot a shoe, as distinguished from ,those used inside the shoe. .t is well recognized by those who have made a study ot the foot, that when one is standing, or walking, the weight yof thebody is thrownentirely on the arches of the feet. wWhen one is walking, particularly, the entire weight oit the body is alternately shifted from one toot to the other. Each arch, therefore, is subject to the impact ot ones weight several times a minute. As this weight in the average adult is considerable,- it will be readily` seen that during the day, each arch is subject to a tremendous strain. This results in the stretching and straining ot the muscles and ligaments of the feet and -legs and in the dislocation ci. the bones` of the arch, producing a tired feeling in the legs, pains inthe legs, andeven the lower part ot the back, and excruciating pains in the feet, and leads tothe development of blunions and calli.

Considerable relief can be obtained'by the usel of arch supports of various kindsdnside the shoe, but, if the arch of the shoe itself is not suliiciently rigid or is improperly shaped, internal supports do not give proper relief. While various devices have been provided along the general line of the present invention for application to the under side of the arch of the shoe,the present invention has for its object to provide an improved external support designed to .produce an active counteraoting pressure to the downward strain on the arch of the foot at its point of greatest strain and weakness and, at the same time, support the entire arch of the `foot.

'lhe invention has for its further object to provide such -a support which will be shaped to assist the wearer in acquiring a more comfortable manner of walking.

The invention .may be readily understood by reference' to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the bottom of a shoe having my invention' applied thereto, the skeleton of the foot being indicated in.

'1924. serial No. 725,879.

dotted lines, the view showingthe inside of the shoe;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding tn Fig. 1, showing only a part ot t ve shoe and being on a larger scale;

Fig. d is a transverse section through the geh Support in the plane of line lV-lV of Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing a slightly modified construction;

Fig. 6 represents a longitudinal section through a further modiied form.

.The invention may be best understood by explanation of its function and location with respect to the bones of the foot, and for this reason, the skeleton ot the `toot has been shown in-dotted lines in Figs. l and 2. .lin these views, the skeleton is approximately in the position that it assumes in the shoe.

ln the drawings, 5 designates the upper of a shoe having a heel 6 and a sole 7, upw-ardly The shank of the shoe arch of the foot.

The arch of the foot includes the heavy heel bone a, known 'as the os calcis. Setting falls directly below the iti arched in the usual manner utf8. l

on this bone is the astragalus b which 'forms the keystone of the arch, and which articul-ates with the heavy bone of the lower leg, so that the load of thebody'is thrown di.- rectly on this bone. A forward extension a of the os calcis bears against the cuboid bone o, forming the lower or outer side of the arch. An extension b of the astragalus bears against scaphoid bone d, the scaphoid having a lateral face which bears against the p cuboid bone c at d.

At the point of juncture of the astragalus, the scaphoid and the cuboid bones, which point is designated F, is the weak point of the arch and the one where the greatest weight is placed. Artioulating with the scaphoid bones are the final bones of the arch,

the internal, middle 'and external cuneiforxn ,y bones, designated g, g', and g2 respectively.

Articulating with the cuneiform and cuboid bones are the five metatarsal bones h, the joint h being the metatarsal joint.

. According to the present invention, there is secured to the bottom of the shoe, against the heel of the shoe, 'a resilient-,ly compressible block 10, which may be of rubber. The block is of substantially the same thickness as the heel throughout the the rear portion of its length, but has a forwardly extending llt) l tapered portion 11. The overall length of projection covers a relatively small area of the block, but is 'sufficiently large to fall .under the point F within a certain range of sizes for shoes, so that one size of support may tit several sizes of shoes etiiciently.

It will be seen that when the foot is lowered to the ground, the load will first come on the projection, and actually create an upward pressure on vthe under side of the arch, particularly to point F and the zone immediately surrounding it, it being understood that, in accordance with known physical principles, the linesof force upwardly will spread out in cone fashion away from the projection. In this manner, an

effective counter pressure is put on'the arch,

serving to relieve it of its load. The main body of the block will assist in resiliently holding the arch of theshoe firm and giving support to the lels heavily strained parts of the foot.

By reason of the tapered forward end of the support, little upward pressure or added rigidity is obtained under the forward part of the arch and the metatarsal joints, whereby the shoe and the bones of the foot may more naturally adjust themselves, and the joints move more freely. At the same time, added support is given to the cuneiform bones.

By making the non-tapering part of the block slightly thicker or higher on the inner .fide than on the outer, as shown in Fig. 4,

lessupward pressure or support will bel given the outer, side of the foot, tending to throw the weight to the outer side ofthe foot. Walking with the weight thrown to the outer and the stronger side of the arch is a corrective for strained or fallen arches,

and it is the proper way to walk to avoid such trouble.

In Fig. 5, I have shown the non-tapering portion of the block as having a slight con-` vexity at the desired point -back of the tapered part, to,l give substantially the same effect as the projection 12. In ythis gure, 13 is the non-tapered portion, 14 the tapered portion, and 15 the 'convex portion that extends below the heel.

In Fig. 6, the construction is generally silnilar to that shown in Fig. 4, but a metal button 16 is molded into thek block. r1`his serves the lsame Vpurpose but wears le's rapidly than the integral rubber projection 12 of Fig. 4.

The device may be retained in position in the same manner thatrubber heels are generally securedNL that is, by nails and metal bushings, as indicated in Fig. 3, although any suitable fastening means may be used.

The invention may be used advantageously, in severe caes of broken arches, with an internal support of' the kind shown in my co-pending application Serial No.

694,157, filed February 20, 1924.

I claim as my invention:

'1. An arch support adaptedto be secured to the shank of a shoe comprising a resiliently compressible elongated body having a rear portion of substantially constant thickness throughout its length, a tapering forward portion, and a button of less length and width than the body projecting from the lower face of said rear portion thereof. v 2. An arch support adapted to be secured to the shank of a shoe comprising a resiliently compressible elongated body having a rear portion of substantially constant thickness throughout its length, a tapering forward portion, and a metal buttn of less length and width than the body molded into the body and projecting from the lower face of said rear portion thereof.

3. The combination with a shoe having a heel and a sole, said sole being arched in the usual manner, of an arch support comprising a block secured to the under surface of the shank having a rear port-ion of substantially the same thickne-s as the heel throughout its length, and a front pdx-tion of forwardly decreasing thickness, said rear portion having a rojection on the lower face thereof extendingbelow thek plane of the bottom of the heel, said projection being so positioned with respect tothe shank of the shoe as to be substantially under ,the juncture of lthe astragalus, rcaphoid and cuboid bones of the foot of a wearer toV 'which the shoe is fitted, said rear portion of the body being thickest on the inner side of the shoe.

In' testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

LAzARUs RosENTHAL. 

